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FCC Crackdown On Badly Maintained AM Facilities?

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CK-722
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FCC Crackdown On Badly Maintained AM Facilities?

Post by CK-722 » Thu Mar 07, 2019 8:06 pm

I've noticed several AMs that are suddenly quite a bit stronger than they have been in a while. It could be just the extremely cold weather.

But I wonder if there have been any rumors of a crackdown on poorly maintained AM facilities. There seem to be quite a few AMs that are not at their full facilities. Many, but not all, have FM translators, and it's less critical. Again, it might be just the cold weather.

Again, not sure about this. But a word to the wise is sufficient. Don't end up like WLQR Toledo. You could lose your translator. If you need an STA, get one. NOT trying to cause panic. I PROMISE I won't tell the FCC. Tell your managers that it needs to be addressed.


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Deleted User 14935

Re: FCC Crackdown On Badly Maintained AM Facilities?

Post by Deleted User 14935 » Thu Mar 07, 2019 8:40 pm

Maybe this is the start of the AM Band thinning out, If the owners can’t afford the maintenance on a facility time to hand in the license. What is your take CK-722?



CK-722
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Re: FCC Crackdown On Badly Maintained AM Facilities?

Post by CK-722 » Thu Mar 07, 2019 9:28 pm

Maybe this is the start of the AM Band thinning out, If the owners can’t afford the maintenance on a facility time to hand in the license. What is your take CK-722?
The thing is, if they lose the AM, they lose the translator, if they have one. The other thing is, the AM can usually cover a lot more territory. At least in the Daytime.


Is THAT where they got the idea for the 486-SX?

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Deleted User 3751

Re: FCC Crackdown On Badly Maintained AM Facilities?

Post by Deleted User 3751 » Fri Mar 08, 2019 7:13 am

AM's do have better ground conductivity in the winter giving those stations a somewhat better signal, that is not saying that there are some stations that are maintained properly.
Last edited by Deleted User 3751 on Sun Mar 10, 2019 7:56 am, edited 1 time in total.



CK-722
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Re: FCC Crackdown On Badly Maintained AM Facilities?

Post by CK-722 » Sun Mar 10, 2019 5:31 am

My initial thought was that several had repaired their transmitters. But Occam's Razor would suggest that it was just the cold weather. The part about maintenance remains. We'll see what happens when it warms up this week. In the meantime, don't cut yourself on Occam's Razor.


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Ed Joseph
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Re: FCC Crackdown On Badly Maintained AM Facilities?

Post by Ed Joseph » Sat Mar 16, 2019 8:05 pm

There has been a lot of snow melt, which ups the ground conductivity a bit. I used to witness that effect running AM radials this time of year.


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innate-in-you
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Re: FCC Crackdown On Badly Maintained AM Facilities?

Post by innate-in-you » Thu Jun 06, 2019 8:04 pm

This afternoon (6/6) I was listening to WPON at 10th & Michigan Ave. In Detroit.

It was significantly stronger than I've heard it to date, almost listenable (guessing .2-.4 MV/m).
My guess is that they are on their permitted pattern.



k8jd
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Location: Commerce, MI

Re: FCC Crackdown On Badly Maintained AM Facilities?

Post by k8jd » Fri Jun 07, 2019 4:13 pm

This afternoon (6/7/19) at 20:10 UT, I can hear two weak signals beating a slow hetrodyne on 1460 kHz. Both have voice and music modulation that I can barely pick out on nrrow bandwidth. Signal levels are bouncing between S4 and S5.
Sure NOT WPON that is located about 3 miles from here.



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Ed Joseph
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Re: FCC Crackdown On Badly Maintained AM Facilities?

Post by Ed Joseph » Mon Jul 01, 2019 8:58 pm

I'd really love to see a few broom-closet stations go dark. They seem to be everywhere, sounding like 1945-era audio. That said, I'd rather a few H*** AM stations shut the stupid IBOC off! You can really see how dirty some of these IBOC signals are on an online SDR.


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